That John Wall has decided he would like to play after all should come as no surprise. His impatience after spending nearly a quarter of the season watching, was to be expected no matter how willing he has been to fill a role as the Rockets’ veteran voice, their assistant Kevin Porter Jr. whisperer.
He of course wants to play. He had spent nearly two seasons working his way back from injuries to be able to play again. Ideally, he would like to play elsewhere, to be sent to a team far better equipped and motivated to win.
That’s where he needs to make the sort of difficult decision he has not made yet, accepting the sort of limited role he has refused.
On Sunday, after his meeting with Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and coach Stephen Silas, Wall posted a video on Instagram of his workout with the message “Born ready, been ready” and a hashtag, “#FreeMe.”
If Wall wants to restart his career elsewhere, with the sort of team that would have enough at stake to merit paying him the $91.7 million remaining on his contract, he should tell Stone, Silas, and anyone else around from Tilman Fertitta to the guy that sweeps up Toyota Center after games, that he would happily play in any role the Rockets can offer.
Start. Come off the bench. Sit when the games are on the line. Doesn’t matter.
Wall is healthy. He can play at a high level, if perhaps not (or not yet) at his previous All-Star level. He can show that even with limited playing time.
More than that, he can demonstrate to teams that might be willing to deal next month or at the trade deadline when the Rockets will have already paid much of the $41 million on his contract for this season, that he would accept that sort of role for them. He could be somebody’s Derrick Rose, a former MVP who came back from injuries to remake himself as an indispensable sixth man.
Wall might not like the idea of accepting D.J. Augustin’s role, serving as Porter’s understudy. He certainly does not think of himself that way. But he has indicated that he understands the Rockets have chosen to emphasize development as the priority of the start of the rebuilding. If that was not clear enough when Wall spoke before the season about accepting his “mentor” role, it should be obvious now that the Rockets are 3-16.
As Porter has demonstrated in the two games since returning from his thigh injury, he needs to run the Rockets’ offense and learn from the experience. If Wall was back as a starter, playing 30 to 32 minutes per game, he not only would be cutting into the playing time going to Porter and Jalen Green when he returns from his hamstring injury, he also would handle the ball and run the offense.
It would make no sense to play Wall and then have him stand in the corner as if he was Garrison Mathews. But for the Rockets, it would be similarly nonsensical to go through all the losing and not gain everything possible from the experience. Growing pains must come with growth.
Both goals could come with Wall playing a limited role. Augustin has been playing 12.4 minutes per game. Bump it up to 18 for Wall and he would be playing enough to show what he can still do and a willingness to do it in whatever role another team might have for him.
He has been such a good, engaged, supportive teammate — it was easy to see him advising Porter after time outs on Saturday, even as his restlessness has become increasingly apparent through the week — that filling a sixth man role would add to his reputation as the sort of player a contender could use.
So far, he has not accepted that limited role. He has wanted to play throughout the season, an individual with knowledge of his thinking and the conversations with the Rockets said. But he did not want to give himself a demotion because the Rockets find themselves working on the team they will become after he has moved on.
Sunday’s conversations with Stone and Silas did not change that. Neither will his desire to play make it easier for the Rockets to find a trade.
Wall is exceedingly difficult to move not because he is unlikely to produce at the level of a player making $91.7 million over two seasons but because of the difficulty making the money work to complete a trade.
Wall would not cost another team the $41 million he is owed this season. He would cost the difference between what he earns and what a team would send to the Rockets. But that’s also the problem.
Players making that kind of money are typically too valuable to be traded for teams good enough to want to add Wall. Some would not fit with the Rockets’ timetable any better than Wall. The Rockets could seek to add picks to make a team willing to give up richly paid veterans but nearly every move the past two seasons was to horde picks rather than trade them away.
Talks could pick up when the summer free agents are eligible to be traded Dec. 15. More likely, there could be opportunities to explore at the Feb. 10 trade deadline. Even then, it will be tough.
Playing could help. Strangely, playing in a limited role could help more than if he was back with his usual starting point guard duties. But as much as Wall wants to play again, he has not wanted to play like that, which could continue to keep him from playing at all.
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
twitter.com/jonathan_feigen
"accept" - Google News
November 29, 2021 at 04:07AM
https://ift.tt/3E1iUOT
Free John Wall? All-Star should accept lesser role with Rockets first - Houston Chronicle
"accept" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YsXkRf
https://ift.tt/3d2Wjnc
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Free John Wall? All-Star should accept lesser role with Rockets first - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment